Wichita eagle., 1887-09-10

| Really, Roger. eACidilltu oHc, yo'
must have lost your sensesi Flowers SUI
fer! Oh, MY but you are chfldish"
And poking fun at me, she moved on
still switching about heedlessly.
What was going on within me? Was i
ON account of the flowers, or was it m,
self esteem? To this day am ignorant O
the cause that stirred me to anger so sud
denly. Ny other nature, the bad one, wa!
fully aroused, and, on account OF a few
flowers, 1 was getting as mad as hornet
''Suzanne," said I, shortly after, but il
q tone which, must confess, might have
sounded somewhat imperious, 'stop that
| please -
With surprised start she half turned
her head and asked:
81 say, what is the matter with you
Roger:''
with me? nothing-nothing, STAN
mered /, abashed, but at the same time
piqued by the naughty manner in which
| she had put the question. "But not j:
not right don't want you to do it,
''But if it pleases mel" demanded she
| facing about abruptly, and, with slight
disdainful movement of her hand, flower
| at my left fell to the ground, nipped of
by the plant whip lash.
"Well" said 1. losing what little patti
ence l had left, 81 will not allow itr'
And made a movement to arrest her
hand
''Then, all this is in earnest" said she,
stepping back to avoid my grasp, and eye
ing me from head to foot in defiant man
ner.
eyes" cried l. ~ am thoroughly in
earnest" but it was quiet wrong of me to
add, 'you have no feelings at all'
She became slightly pale, and, without
a word Of reply, she passed hastily
by me- Giving short, downward switch
with her whip, in the air this time, as if
cutting through an invisible obstacle, she
strobe back to the chateau.
My first impulse was to follow so as to
try to appease her, but l could not muster
up the courage to do so. Besides l was
still under the influence of my foolish
anger, not enough 50, however, to make
me unconscious of the gravity of the
offense conveyed by my last words.
She retraced her steps along the path
we had been following. / did not take
my eyes off her, but she never once turned
her head. When she entered the avenue
of chestnut trees | lost sight of her al
together.
Ny anger soon cooling down, / began
more fully to understand the nature of the
quarrel that had taken place. 1 could
only sum it up in these two words:
"'Iis absurd"
Return to the housed Why should 1?
What could 1 say? Justify myself? To
what purpose The evil was beyond
remedy Sue for forgiveness? Never!
Besides, to do so 1 would have needed
more courage than l possessed. Waiting
seemed TO me the best, though not the
most commendable plan.
In order to think over the matter
calmly, and to let events take their own
course, passed through the thicket and
walked on for while at random. / soon
reached the outskirts Of small grove
about 200 metres from the main avenue of
the chateau. Not wishing to get in yet,
threw myself on the gross and with my
eyes fixed on the house / waited. Toby
stretched himself at my feet.
A little later two horses were led into
the yard. Nine. de Stahl and her daugh-
ter came down the steps alone, mounted
their horses and started off ut 4 ga1lop.
Aroused by the slightest noise, Toby
sprang Off at full speed toward them,
barking as loud as he could
In passing by the grove the young girl
accidentally cast her eyes in my direction.
Did she see me? Perhaps she did, for she
raised her riding whip and brought it down
whack on the neck of her charger. The
surprised animal reared up on her hind
legs To subdue him she belabored him
with blows which, verify believe, were
not falling on the shoulders she would
have liked them TO. With ceaseless yelp- |
ings Toby escorted the enemy to the en- |
trance of the avenue; then bounding back |
as fast as his legs could carry him he took |
his place at my feet, growing still, but in |
q tone which seemed to mean: 81 have |
done my duty, haven't I? Now, let Us
live in peace"
As the sun began bending his course |
toward the hills decided on returning |
home.
For awhile wandered around the house |
and then set ont in search of news. Above |
all things 10 be feared was the reception |
my grandmother would give me. At last |
spied my old goyerness, who had looked |
for me in every corner of the premises. I
asked her what she had heard.
She told me that Mile. de Stahl had re-
turned in a fury, giving orders to have |
the horse saddled Immediately. On enter
ing the parlor she related a long story of |
n hedge, u riding whip and flowers, of |
which it was impossible TO understand !
anything except that l had so far for |
gotten myself as TO insult my betrothed. |
Nine. dc Stahl had fully approved her |
daughters conduct. AS TO my grand |
mother, she simply contented herself with |
from time TO time, calculations |
Of surprise. insisting that it was an alb |
Surd quarrel; that, most aSsuredly, / |
must have been bereft of my senses. All |
this, however, did not prevent her from |
undertaking my defense, |
when. on finishing her recital, Mile. de |
Stahl applied to me rather unc0mplimen- |
tary epitheis.
l was not more than half treasured |
when l entered the house. Wishing above |
all things 10 explain matters to grand |
went Immediately t. the draw |
ing room. Not finding her present, de- |
scended TO the garden, but no one had |
seen her. was then informed that, after |
the departure of her two friends. she had |
retired to her bedchamber. Sending to |
ask her TO receive me, word came back |
that she was not feeling well and desired |
to be left 10 herself.
i, also, went 10 my room, ana AT nn-
aer time found some cock and bull story |
as an excuse for not going down. Two or
three annoying thoughts haunted me. |
was bewildered by the contemplation of |
what would be the effects OF my foolish |
anger; all our plans upset, grandmother |
broken hearted, my prospects Of future |
bliss cast away, and all on account Of an
absurd display of temper
Night came on. We'll aware that all
endeavors TO sleep would prove futile, I
leaned upon my elbow at the window, and
gave myself up to meditation.